risk
by mr moniker
Summary: Haru's favourite (and ridiculously rich) aunt passes away, leaving Haru with her estate, shares and all of her money. At first Haru is thrilled, but then she learns of the catch. "In order to successfully obtain everything detailed in this will," the lawyer said. "You'll have to find her murderer."
1. it starts with a death

**1**

 _it starts with a death_

—

Haru was not having a good day. Her favourite aunt died last week, she failed her English quiz yesterday, and she was ninety-percent sure that her-not-quite-friend-but-I-guess-they-were-friends-because-of-shared-trauma friend Kyoko was dating Tsuna but neither party was willing to tell her (it had been a month, too). And she was pretty sure her father was still in shock from losing his only sibling, so she was the one tasked with planning and executing the funeral—and none of her friends, not the ones at Midori Middle or even Tsuna and his gang bothered to come check in on her! She's been gone for a week (she was forever appreciative of her school's policy on family deaths. Gracing students with a three-week break to mourn with the option of free therapy for a year was honestly something all schools should aspire to do!)

The icing on the cake was her aunt's lawyer, Hinata. As Haru was placing an order on floral arrangements for the funeral, he suddenly showed up at her door carrying a weathered brown suitcase. She sat him down in the living room and got some green tea ready for them. At first she thought she should get her father, but it broke her heart to hear his wracked sobs when she approached his door. He was in no position to be dealing with lawyers at this point, so she decided to do handle it.

When they were both settled, Hinata regarded her with a serious stare. Everything about his wrinkled face screamed forever serious, but his clothes were another story. The man wore a fuchsia suit with white polka dots and a tie that was decorated with cherry blossom petals.

"Ah, yes, you are Miura Haru, hmm?" he said, adjusting his old-fashioned spectacles. He opened his briefcase and pulled out what looked like a will. "Your aunt Yoriko has left you with everything in her will. You'll get her estate, her shares, and all of her money. "

Haru nearly dropped the teacup in her hand. _"Hahi?"_

"Hmm, yes, indeed," he nodded. "But there is a catch, young Miura."

Haru sighed. She couldn't catch _one_ break this week.

"In order to successfully obtain everything detailed in this will," the lawyer said. "You'll have to find her murderer."

This time, the teacup clattered to the floor and shattered.

—

There was no police reported filed. Yet, Hinata insisted her aunt was murdered. When Haru and her father received her charred remains at the morgue to cremate, they told them that aunt Yoriko had been killed in an accidental fire at her condo in Tokyo. The fire was terrible, forcing them to identify her by her teeth. Horrific way to die, yes, but that didn't call for an investigation. Plus, the fire marshal said she was a victim of the faulty wiring in the new luxury condominiums popping up across downtown Tokyo.

It made sense to Haru then. After all, immediately after news broke that her aunt had died there were protests against the company responsible for these condos and eventually the entire country was swept up in watching scandal after scandal befall this company for the next few weeks. Allegations of manipulation, lying, bribery and what have you emerged. Soon after, arrests were made. The only good was the families of the victims were suiting for a class-action lawsuit against the company, which ate up most of her father's time. Between the suit, work and grieving over the loss of his sister, Haru had to pick up the slack on everything else: the funeral, the housework, groceries, and the will.

Ah, the will. Haru sighed, sinking further into the mountain of plushies and pillows on her bed. Hinata had left her a copy of the will, and some files that was filled with information revealing how foul play was involved in the fire and potential suspects for her to investigate. It sat on her desk and Haru felt like it was judging her.

 _Who the hell would kill aunt Yoriko, though?_ She sat up and sighed. _Sure, aunt Yoriko was a ruthless conglomerate that essentially eviscerated small businesses and ate up start-ups, but people would get back at her with shady business deals, not murder!_

A scarier thought came across Haru's mind: how would aunt Yoriko have the foreknowledge to know she'd be murdered?

Haru shivered. It was all too much for a Tuesday afternoon. Lying back down, she decided to sleep it off. Maybe when she wakes up, she'll find out that it was all a fever dream. Yeah, then she'll go to school, ace her English test, and then maybe go out for cake with Kyoko. The thought left her with a bitter smile.

Hours later, it was the click of a pistol's hammer that woke Haru up.


	2. and then came the barrel of a gun

**2**

 _and then came the barrel of a gun_

—

Haru had to pause and gather her thoughts for a moment. One, her aunt died last week. Two, her father was part of a class-action suit for her wrongful death. Three, Kyoko and Tsuna was dating (this detail, after the first two, seemed unimportant now). Three, her aunt's lawyer came over a few hours ago claiming that she was murdered. Four, she doesn't know if the flower arrangements will arrive in time for the funeral. Oh, and five, there was currently a gun cocked at her head.

There's a velvety voice lilted out of Haru vision, "Give me a good one liner and I just may let you live."

" _Hahi?!_ A one liner?"

"Yes, a one liner."

She racked her brain for a cheesy one liner. She's heard thousands of them, watching Tsuna and co. in their fights ( _Wait._ Tsuna was her _sun_ , he wasn't cheesy). Ah, but it needed to fit with the mood at the moment. Here she was in her room with a stranger and a gun being held to her head. What would Tsuna say? Probably squeak out a cute _"hieee!"_ and then get all cool and serious—OK, she was getting off track. She wasn't Tsuna, nor was he here. She was Haru, she could _die_ , and she needed to _think_. Could she fight the stranger off? Get them by surprise and get the gun?

The gun is pushed into her temple. "Well? Time's almost up?"

"Wai—, wai—, wai—, wait," she shrieked. "OK, just give me one second… one more second. Please?"

She took a deep breath and drew a blank. Well, what could she say?

She blurted out, "This just isn't my week." Closing her eyes tight she waited for the pull of the trigger, but it never came. Instead, she was met with the sound of laughter.

"I was just messing with you," the voice said, growing distant. The weight of the gun on her temple disappeared. "I just needed these files, but thanks for the entertainment, Haru-chan!"

When she opened her eyes, she was alone. Her window was opened wide, and when she turned to her desk everything but the will was gone. Tumbling out of bed to get a closer look at her desk, she tripped on her blanket and her cheek slammed into the corner of her nightstand. "Ah!" She swiped her fingers across her cheek, and it came away stained in red.

"Haru," came the soft call of her father. "Everything alright?"

 _No, dad,_ she wanted to say. _Nothing is alright. I was nearly shot to death, but in reality my clumsy self is probably what'll get me killed. Oh, and your sister was actually murdered and all the only proof of that is now missing_ — _likely stolen by her murder, too_ _!_

Instead she said, "Yeah, I'm fine!"

— ; —

After lots of rubbing alcohol, some tears, and a huge, ugly white bandage on her cheek later, Haru's cut was effectively dealt with. Deciding to avoid her room for the time being, she sat in the living room. She ran a hand through her hair, coaxing it out of its high pony tail and letting it fall. She sighed. Her week was progressively getting weirder. Next, she'd probably get an invitation to Tsuna and Kyoko's wedding. She frowned. Even at the most inopportune moments, her thoughts fled to those two. She needed to get a grip. Why did she concern herself so much with them, especially Tsuna? Her aunt died! _She_ nearly died!

Plucking the pillow next to her, she let out a frustrated shriek into it. Was she going to forever be his stupid, vapid fangirl? Who got jealous over the smallest things? Who would never get over him?

Then, suddenly, the door bell rang. Haru released the pillow and made her way. She standing at the door, she eyed it warily. If it was whoever had that gun, they'd likely not come back? Especially through her front door, right? Unless that's what they wanted her to think?

She looked into the peephole. Instead of a masked killer, she's greeted by a smiling Yamamoto carrying something wrapped in his arms. She's happy to see him, but something in her heart twists. What, was she hoping Tsuna would be there? She's been away from everyone for a week now and she finally had someone check up on her! She should be happy at least one person took the time to see her, right? She frowned. What a sad thought. She worked hard to form all these bonds, and all she got to show for it was one person taking the time to see her.

 _Wait_. She eyed the peephole suspiciously. She wasn't even particularly close to Yamamoto, anyway. Why was he of all people visiting her?

When the doorbell rings again, she's shaken out of her thoughts. She took a deep breath and opened it. "Hi, Yamamoto-kun!" she said in what she hoped was her usual chipper voice. It's only been a week and she's already forgetting how to act like her happy-go-lucky self. "How are you?"

His smile is wiped off his face when he takes in her face. "Haru, are you OK?"

When did she last hear someone ask her that? _Haru, are you OK?_ It felt foreign to her. Yamamoto is looking at her with those earnest eyes and in that moment Haru wanted to cry, but she instead flashed a smile that didn't quite meet her eye "Haru's fine! Haru fell out of bed and hit her cheek, haha! But Haru is fine now! What brings you here, Yamamoto-kun?"

"Well, I noticed I haven't seen much of you lately so I was asking around and I heard your aunt died in those crazy fires in Tokyo, so here," he held out a wrapped container. "It's your favourites from the store. Pops and I are sorry about your loss."

When takes the container, it's then Haru notices her hands are shaking. When the first tear falls, she doesn't bother to hide it.

(And really, if anyone knew about playing pretend, it was Yamamoto, even if she just didn't know yet).

—;—

When Haru actually says everything out loud, she realized just how impossible her situation was. To his credit, Yamamoto took it all in with stride. Then again, he was one of Tsuna's best friends and followed him through the strangest ordeals, so this was probably nothing to him, right?

"This isn't normal," Yamamoto said gravely.

Haru groaned.

"Did you get a look at whoever did that?" he pointed at her face.

"Well, Haru actually did that accidentally," she muttered, her cheeks growing red. "But the gunman? I didn't actually see their face."

Yamamoto frowned. "We should probably ask Tsuna—"

"Ah, no!" Haru cried out suddenly. She doesn't know what possesses her to do so. Isn' that what she wanted? For Tsuna to come and help her? "If—if it's OK, I don't want to involve anyone. It's Haru's problem, and Tsuna-kun has a lot on his plate right now."

"But—"

"Yamamoto-kun, _please_ ," she begged. "It's—it's a family thing. I really don't want to get anyone else in this mess. Please."

He signed. "Fine."

Haru let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"But _I'm_ still going to help you."

—;—

Elsewhere in Namimori, Kyoko frowned. She felt like she was forgettingt. Kyoko hated it when she couldn't remember something important. It was a strange feeling, like a itch between her shoulders. When Tsuna took her hand and asked her if she was alright, she frowned.

"I don't know, Tsu-kun," she murmured, squeezing his hand. "I feel like I'm forgetting something important."


End file.
